Seven Days With Poseidon
by Beanie-Babie17
Summary: The 6teen gang goes to sea for spring break for an unforgettable trip. NikkiXJonesy CaitlinXJude JenXWyatt Finally Complete!
1. Day One: We're On A Boat

**Seven Days with Poseidon**

Day One: We're On A Boat

They say that hindsight is 20/20 and that couldn't be any closer to the truth. When myself and my five best friends decided to go out on my boyfriend's uncles' boat, La Amaria, we couldn't have expected what would happen over the course of one week. It was spring break and everyone we knew was going to the beach. We had all planned on going too, except we waited until the last minute and all the hotels were booked. There was no way we were going miss out on having a good time just because of that. But we also wanted to stay in one place and have a whole week away from our jobs and our parents. So my boyfriend, Jonesy asked his uncle if we could his boat out for the week. He used to spend weeks in the summer with Jonesy showing him everything there was to know about sailing and navigating. His uncle was more than happy to see that Jonesy took such an interest in the hobby that he wanted to show his friends. So on a Friday afternoon after school, the six of us got on a boat.

"Jonesy, this is a boat, right?" Caitlin asked.

"Yea, doesn't it look like one?" he responded.

"It does, but," Caitlin said as she walked around. "Where's the Jacuzzi tub and the casino?" She looked genuinely confused.

"Well, Malibu Barbie, I think you misunderstood. This is a _boat. _You're thinking of a _yacht_." I lived to disappoint the blonde princess.

"So there's no shuffleboard, either?" she gave this pathetic, puppy-dog look to Jude.

"Don't worry, babe. I'll make sure we all have fun." Jude lifted Caitlin's chin in his fingers. As annoying as they were at times, Jude and Caitlin looked darn cute together.

"You guys, I don't know if I can handle being here." Jen walked up with horror in her face.

"Oh, relax, Jen. Jonesy knows what he's doing. He wouldn't let anything happen." I tried to assure her.

"And I'll be right here holding you hand, okay?" Wyatt said to Jen. He really is one of the nicest guys I know. Jen was overreacting a little bit after watching Deep Blue Sea a week ago. I absolutely insisted that we watch something happier but Jonsey actually thought it help Jen get over her fear of the ocean and sharks by showing her how dramatic and unrealistic the occurrences are in movies. But, unfortunately, much like letting a five year old watch a Freddy and Jason movie, it only confirmed and exacerbated Jen's fear.

We almost couldn't get her on the boat in the first place. If it wasn't for Wyatt we wouldn't have gotten her up there at all. By the late afternoon we were bored with exploring the boat and ready to relax. It was starting to get dark so each of us gathered with our significant other and tried to sleep. At least that's what I hoped would happen. I was sound asleep when I was suddenly startled awake by a loud crash and a high pitched scream.

"_Caitlin did something stupid."_ I thought to myself as I moved closer to Jonesy and tried to get back to sleep. But I was awakened yet again by Jude calling me.

"Okay, so she did something _really_ stupid." I mumbled out loud.

"What's up Jude?" I called back in a tired voice. He didn't say anything back but I heard him walking toward our bunk. He appeared holding Caitlin in his arms.

"What on earth happened?" I asked.

"Well, Caitlin tried to stand on top of the bow so she could say that she was queen of the world, but when she was standing there, a big wave hit the boat and she fell and--" he placed her down on my side of the bed. I grabbed my flashlight and the first aid kit.

"And got a pretty big gash in her thigh. As soon as I clean and dress it, she'll be fine as long as she doesn't try anything stupid like that again." I started by cleaning the blood that was dripping down her leg with a cotton ball and alcohol. I wanted to teach Caitlin a lesson so cleaned the wound with 3% peroxide as opposed iodine which would not have burned so badly. Caitlin finally showed some signs of life when she felt the peroxide on her leg. She did a muffled scream and I could see tears forming in her eyes. I knew she was just trying to act brave in front of Jude. If he hadn't been standing there the whole time she would have screamed so much louder. When I was done, Jude lifted Caitlin and carried her back to their bunk. I put away my flashlight and first aid kit and was awakened from my sleep this time by Jonesy shaking me.

"Nikki, wake up. There's a storm." And sure enough, I saw rain and heard thunder crashing down from the sky. The boat was suddenly tossing back and forth very strongly and it was my job to go warn everyone. Jonesy's job was to try to keep the boat from taking on water and to radio the coast guard to let them know where we were. Such an uneventful day turned to terror in a matter of minutes.


	2. Day Two: The Alphabet Game

**Seven Days with Poseidon**

**Author's Note**: Hi, guys. Welcome to my second FanFiction. Promise it will NOT take me almost a year to write this one. LOL. There will only be seven chapters in this story. And I decided to change up the couples a bit for a little variety. Personally, I love Jen/Jude together the most. Anyways, read and review!

Day Two: The Alphabet Game

As I frantically ran down the bunks screaming my head off that there was a storm water began pouring into the boat and soaked through my khaki cargo shorts. Jonesy was doing his best to navigate and try to keep the water from coming on board but he knew there was just too much. Before he could even get to the radio to try to get help, a giant wave crashed against the boat and attempted to flip the whole boat over. Jonesy called out for Wyatt to grab the lifeboat and throw it in the water so we could all get in. Caitlin and Jude went first, followed by Wyatt and Jen, and lastly, Jonesy and me. Jonesy took one last look at La Amaria before he sighed and rowed our little lifeboat out of its debris. We sat in silence and in fear for several minutes as Jonesy paddled, none of us were sure if we should say anything.

"My uncle's going to kill me." Jonesy finally muttered.

"Oh, come on, Jonesy. It's a storm on the ocean. Your uncle knows how unpredictable they are. Neither of you could have known." I pushed my tangled, wet hair out of my face and tried to ignore the pouring rain and occasional thunder. I wanted to believe that Jonesy's uncle wouldn't be furious with him for what happened. I wanted to believe that even though Jonesy didn't have enough time to radio the coat guard, that they'd come looking for us anyway. And I desperately wanted to believe deep inside that by this time tomorrow we would be sitting at our usual table at the Lemon attempting to choke down some of Caitlin awful lemonade like we do every weekend. But somehow I knew things wouldn't be back to normal tomorrow. No one said anything else for what seemed like hours. We all let the rain pass over us as if it were to wash away all the guilt we were feeling. Maybe if we could've just found a hotel in time. Our painful thoughts were interrupted by Caitlin's sudden scream. We all looked over at her and I noticed that the dressing I had put on her leg was gone. All the salt water had begun to irritate it again. I imagined it must have been burning pretty badly but I also saw that it was bleeding again. None of us could really do anything to help her. So Caitlin just cupped some water in her hands from the ocean to wash off the blood.

"Hey, guys. Let's play a game." Jude suggested out of nowhere. I know he was only doing it to distract Caitlin from her injury so instead of being my usual sarcastic, gloomy self, I decided to humor him.

"Sure, Jude. Pick one."

"How about the alphabet game?"

"How do you play that, Jude?" Wyatt sat up and asked. Jude sat up excitedly as he began to explain the story.

"Well, it starts out with me saying something like, 'I went on a picnic and I brought an apple.' And then the next person says--"

"I went on a picnic and I brought an apple _and _a banana. I got you." Jonesy chimed in. And so the game began. It lasted for hours when it finally got down to Jude, Wyatt, and Jen.

"I went on a picnic and I brought apples, bananas, cucumbers, doughnuts, eggplant, fried chicken, grape jelly, hot dogs, ice cream, jam, k-karrots?" Jude suddenly slipped up.

"Carrots starts with a 'C', Jude. You're out." Jen sounded somewhat cheerful which was a good thing in her case.

"Okay, so it's just down to you and me, baby" Wyatt said in a competative but flirty voice.

"Okay, then. Bring it on." Jen teased. The game went on for about ten more minutes getting very intense with each passing minute.

"I went on a picnic and I brought apples, bananas, cucumbers, doughnuts, eggplant, fried chicken, grape jelly, hot dogs, ice cream, jam, kale, lemonade, melons, noodles, oranges, peanuts butter, quesadillas, rice krispies, s--" Jen finally stopped and took a breath.

"What's the matter, can't think of anything?" Wyatt teased.

"No, it isn't that. I just felt something hit the boat." Jen looked around in panic.

"It was probably just a wave. Relax, Jen." Jonesy said, annoyed.

"Jonesy, we've been sitting in a boat for hours. Do you really think I don't know what a wave feels like?" I decided to intervene.

"Calm down you two. Let's just meet in the middle and say it's a fish." I casually stroked the water with my fingers when I felt something hit the lifeboat so hard that I practically fell on Jonesy.

"What the hell was that?" Jonesy asked with me now sitting in his lap.

"Whatever is was, I'm pretty sure it wasn't a fish _or_ a wave." Caitlin said in a monotone voice after not having said anything for a while.

"That's for damn sure." I acknowledged.


	3. Day Three: Shark Attack, Deep Blue Sea,

**Seven Days with Poseidon**

**Author's Note:** It's Spring Break for me! Yay! More time for writing. But don't expect any miracles. Read and review!

**Day Three: Shark Attack, Deep Blue Sea, Jaws…You Get the Picture**

Yet again a somewhat uneventful moment turned very quickly to chaos. Thanks to Caitlin's blood we were now sharkbait.

Our tiny lifeboat wasn't strong enough to withstand sharks biting at it with their teeth.

We all sat as silently as we could hoping that maybe the sharks would leave if we didn't make any noise.

But they continued to ram up against our boat for hours

. We all had blooshot eyes and jumpy nerves long into the early hours of our third day at sea.

Something had to be done soon before someone got hurt.

Jonesy suggested that we try moving the boat away from the sharks.

None of us was brave enough to stick our hand in the water though.

So we all decided we would have to figure out a way to get out of the boat and move it that way.

We waited for a while until we couldn't feel the sharks moving as much.

Jonesy, Jude, and Wyatt got out first, slowly tipping the boat to get rid of all the rotting water and seaweed in the bottom. I quickly hoped out to assist the guys while Jen and Caitlin and Jen watched in fear.

"Come on guys. We need to do this quickly." I prompted.

The girls still didn't want to move.

I was too exhausted from the past two days of dodging a shark attack to get too annoyed with them so I just resorted to flipping over the lifeboat and watching them fall into the water.

Caitlin screamed a bit but still managed to come back up from under the water and help us move it over a little.

After several seconds, we were all wondering where Jen was. We had all been so focused on moving the boat that perhaps we just didn't see her come up out of the water.

Wyatt started looking around and calling her but to no avail.

When I started feeling things brush up against my legs I panicked and told everyone to get back to the boat and start moving it as fast as possible.

Wyatt was apprehensive because he wanted to keep looking for Jen but he knew we really didn't have much of a choice if we wanted to survive this. We grabbed hold of the boat and pulled it until we could hear or feel anymore movement in the water then we all climbed back in.

Wyatt continued calling for Jen into the afternoon sun, hoping that maybe she was just lost and didn't know where we were. But we all knew most likely what had happened. We were all just, at that point, too afraid and too emotional to talk about it.


	4. Day Four: It's All Downhill From Here

**Day Four: It's All Downhill From Here**

With Jen missing, no one really wanted to do much talking anymore. For hours we sat quietly thanking God that the sharks were gone. But without the distractions of near death in our faces, the basic needs of humans could no longer be ignored. We were all starving and dehydrated which didn't help our morale at all. I looked over at Caitlin and saw that she worse off than any of us. In the freezing ocean air, she was sweating but still shivering as if she was cold. I knew exactly what was happening but was too exhausted and depressed to really care. The cut on her leg was starting to become infected from how purple and blue it looked. Caitlin's body was trying to stop the infection by raising her temperature but I knew that if we didn't get help soon her whole leg could become infected and she would need an amputation to survive. As the afternoon faded into night and became day again Jonesy had finally reached the breaking point.

"I've had enough of this crap! I'm thirsty!" Jonesy screamed into the hollow air as he dunked his cupped hands into the salty water.

"Jonesy, stop it!" I demanded, trying to grab his hand away but I was just too weak from starvation. As I watched Jonesy shove the poisonous water down his throat, I could only stare helplessly. I wanted to stop him. I really wanted to grab him around his stomach and force him to puke up all the water but Icouldn't get my hands to move an inch. Jude, who had been silent the whole time with Wyatt, suddenly snapped and joined Jonesy in shoving down the saltwater.

"Oh, God," were all the words I could say. We already had enough sick people on this tiny boat and we really didn't have enough room for anyone else.

Wyatt had been completely silent ever since Jen went missing. I really wanted to tell him something to make him feel better, but there wasn't anything I could say. I spent the fourth day watching Jonesy and Jude act like idiots until the unthinkable happened.

"Hey, guys," Jonesy screamed out suddenly. "Do you guys see that? There's a taco stand over there."

"Jonesy, what on earth are you talking about? There's nothing there." I pointed out. Jonesy obviously didn't believe me.

"Oh, come on. How can you not see that?" he pestered. Then, without any form of warning, Jonesy actually jumped out of the boat into the ocean.

"Jonesy!" I screamed as I tried to grab his arm before he slipped into the water, but it was too late. I relaxed for a second when I remembered that Jonesy could swim. But when he didn't resurface right away I panicked and grabbed Jude and pulled him up against my body tightly. I was almost positive that he might try to jump into the water after Jonesy to chase the hallucination. I felt completely lost at that moment. The only guy I ever loved and my best friend since kindergarten were both gone, probably forever. And at the rate that things were going, they wouldn't be the only ones. Caitlin was completely non responsive at this point. Her blood was being poisoned and she was dying. And I knew sometime soon that Jude would die from the sever dehydration of the saltwater. Either that, or he would jump off the boat eventually. Wyatt wasn't speaking at all. He just sat at the edge of the boat staring out into the water. He would be of no help in our situation. I clung even harder to Jude as he squirmed around in my arms. I petted his head and shushed him until he finally fell asleep. Then I looked over at Wyatt, who was still in his own pretend world, and finally drifted off to sleep myself as the sun started to go down.


	5. Day Five: My Last Lullaby

**Seven Days With Poseidon**

**Author's Note: **Yea, I know I promised I'd finish this sooner than a year and I'm trying but I have so much work to do and I hate it. But anyway, I'm back again with Chapter Five.

**Day Five: My Last Lullaby**

I woke up to the blinding sun and a bunch of screaming seagulls circling my head. Jude was safely curled up underneath me and Wyatt was asleep on the other side of the boat. I crawled over to Caitlin who was lying face down in the boat. I turned her over and leaned my ear against her face to feel her breathing. Thankfully, she was, but barely. Her whole face was white and she was burning up. I wanted to wake her up so I could tell her everything would be okay even if I knew it wouldn't. Even though I barely got along with her the whole time we had known each other, I still deeply cared about her as a friend and didn't want her to die without knowing that.

"Caitlin, wake up,'' I whispered softly as I shook her. "I need to tell you something."

She stared up at me and whispered something that I couldn't understand. I patted her head softly and she began to cry. I shushed her to calm down but she either wasn't listening or couldn't understand me. She kept muttering gibberish in a panicked tone like she was afraid of something.

"Cait, everything's going to be okay. I know it hurts right now but you'll be fine, I promise.'' She finally stopped muttering and cried softly. I leaned her head down on the floor and went over to wake up Jude. He wouldn't wake up so I dragged him over to Caitlin while he was still sleeping.

"See Caitlin, Jude's here. Everything's alright. Jude loves you so much and cares about you a lot," My eyes started watering and I was choked up.

"I care about you, too. We never really got along, but I always liked your bubbly personality and sense of style. You always seem to look forward to each day and I envy that. I love you, Caitlin. You're such a wonderful friend.'' I was crying so hard by then that Caitlin's face was soaked with my tears as well as hers. Jude finally woke up and began throwing up off the side of the boat. I sighed with relief, hoping that he would be back to normal. Fortunately, he was because he went right over to Caitlin and kissed her forehead. All he said was 'I love you,' and he went back to his corner of the boat. I guess that's all that really needed to be said. I held Caitlin's head up to my chest and cradled her like a baby. Then I started instinctively singing to her the way my mother used to when I was little:

_Hush now, my baby_

_Be still now don't cry_

_Sleep while you're rocked by the stream_

_Sleep and remember my last lullaby_

_I'll be with you when you dream_

I held Caitlin's tiny body in my arms long after she had become cold and motionless. By this time, Jude and Wyatt were both up and decided to help me. Wyatt took off Caitlin's butterfly necklace and handed it to Jude, who put it in his pocket. Jude gave Caitlin one last kiss before he and Wyatt carefully pushed her body overboard and she sank to the bottom. I looked up at the pink and orange sky as the sun was setting. I had never seen anything so beautiful.

We didn't want to sit alone in silence like we had done for the past few days. So, we decided to sit in a semi circle and reminisce about all the fun times the six of us had over the years. The times we would never have again. When it got dark, we were all exhausted but didn't want to sleep. So we stayed up all night and laughed about how innocent we were back then. We started talking about Valentine's Day a few months back and how romantic it was even with the six of us were all together. Then I remembered Jonesy's eyes when he told me he loved me for the first time as I scratched one of the dozens of red blotches that were all over my face and neck. Out of nowhere I began to hysterically cry. I sat up and rubbed my eyes trying to rub away the fond memory that was causing me pain. I took several deep breaths and even tried to stop breathing altogether but the crying would not stop. I thought I was all cried out from earlier, but I guess not. Wyatt and Jude sat on either side of me and pretty much held me up and started to cry too. After several minutes of crying we all just held each other and mentally decided that this would be the last time we cried until we got out of this boat and back home to our families. As the sun rose again we all got up and decided to clean the boat to get rid of the smell of pee, blood, and rotting seaweed.


	6. Day Six: On The Brink

**Seven Days With Poseidon **

**Day Six: On The Brink**

The morning of the sixth day brought anger for all of us. We had grieved and questioned the day before and now it was time to express all the feelings that welled up. I woke up in the worst mood I had been in since the thunderstorm. I was so angry I didn't want to deal with anything today. I really just missed my bed, my shower, my parents and old life. I was so angry that I couldn't even stand the idea of being around everyone. But there wasn't really anywhere to go. I sat and stared at the sky for a while. I was exhausted even though I had been sleeping for hours it seemed.

I was relieved that we had at least cleaned the boat last night. But then I was angered once again when I saw a few pieces of seaweed on the bottom of the boat. I would have just picked it up and thrown it in the water but I was just so tired and hungry and angry. So I got on my knees and pulled the boat up from the side. I didn't realize how hard I was pulling until the boat flipped completely over and I rolled head first into the cold water and curled up into a ball. I held my breath and sank a few feet until I felt something hit my knees. I freaked out a bit and swam up to the top.

When I came up and took a deep breath I opened my eyes to look for Jude and Wyatt. I saw the two of them hanging on to the overturned boat and looking angrily at me. Before I could say anything I felt that same thing again hit my leg. I knew it wasn't a fish because it didn't move away. I figured it must've been a stick. It was getting on my nerves so I grabbed it up out of the water so that I could throw it someplace. It felt thicker than an ordinary stick but I didn't really notice until I picked it up completely out of the water. The bare, pale color, the tiny brown hairs, the white sneaker. Then I inspected the area around the sneaker more closely and realized something. That white sneaker with the blue laces was way too familiar. I moved the sock down and that's when I figured it out. Around the ankle of the leg I found a bracelet. It was a charm bracelet with a hockey stick charm and a soccer ball charm as well. My heart started racing. I remembered that I had given a charm bracelet just like this one to someone a few years ago. I widened my eyes and remembered it was for Jen's lucky 13 birthday. I immediately screamed and threw the terrifying discovery as far away from me as possible. I continued to scream and swam toward the upside down boat.

"I guess now we know." I mumbled to myself as I grabbed on to the boat. Jude looked at me with the scariest look I had ever seen.

"Oh my God, Nikki! Why don't you just shut the hell up already?"

"I haven't said anything all day. Why are you on my case?" I defended.

"Because this whole thing is all your fault." Wyatt said after days of silence.

Even though I was surprised that Wyatt had said anything I was too hurt not to address his comment.

"Great. Now you're blaming me? How exactly is any of this my fault?" I yelled at Wyatt.

"For starters, you tipped over the boat. You threw Jen's leg out into the ocean like you hated her or something. You were the one who was supposed to fix Caitlin's leg and now she's dead." Jude piped in. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"You asshole! How can you blame me for what happened? You were the one who was with Caitlin when she got hurt. It's your fault, not mine." I snapped back at Jude.

"Fine then, blame me for everything, I don't care. But this isn't going to get us out of here now is it?" Jude said back.

"What do you mean, out of here? asked Wyatt.

"Back home, obviously." I chimed in.

"We're never getting out of, Nikki." Wyatt said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"What makes you so sure?" Jude asked.

"When was the last time you saw a boat pass by? It's been six days, don't you think if anyone cared that we were missing they would have come to look for us by now?" Wyatt answered angrily.

"They're looking. They just haven't found us yet." I said hopefully.

"They quit looking a long time ago. And I've quit hoping they'd find us. I'm just waiting, now." Wyatt's tone was eerie, kind of like a serial killer.

"Waiting for what?" Jude dared to ask.

"I'm waiting to die already. Then I can be with Jen forever."

Nobody talked after that one because it was just too real.

I closed my eyes and tried to remember the rule we had made just yesterday. No more crying. Instead I just thought to myself:

_"I don't want to give up hope that we could be found alive, but that would make things so much easier. I could just give up now and stop thinking about tomorrow being 'the day'. I could quit being frightened of sharks or whatever else is in the water because it won't matter. I could pick a pleasant memory of all of us together and happy and keep the image in mind until I drift off peacefully. The option had always been there, it just never occurred to me that it would be a viable one. I hadn't been expecting us to still be here longer than a few days. I also didn't expect three of my best friends to die, either. Maybe expectations can change over time. Maybe it would be a good idea for me to just end it all now. Hold my head underwater and breathe it in until I lose consciousness."_

But there was still that nerve in the back of my mind that was too scared to do it.

I was afraid that as soon as I became unconscious, a boat would magically appear and save Wyatt and Jude. I knew then that I just couldn't give up yet. I had to keep holding on to hope. Maybe hope was the only thing keeping us all alive.


	7. Day Seven: Hope

**Seven Days With Poseidon **

**Author's Note: I know it took me forever to finish, but I know you're gonna love the ending! Please read and Review! And look for my next short fanfic, _Wyatt and Michelle: Postpartum _coming sometime soon. If any of you guys are Sims fans I have a Pleasant Family fic called _Trouble in Twin Town_ on here, too. I'll be getting to the trilogy for _Come Taste Life_ as soon as I have time. I've missed Fanfiction! Thank goodness the semester is about to end soon!**

Day Seven: Hope

As the sun rose on the seventh day, I thought a lot about my life. I hadn't been the nicest person now that I thought about it. I had been mean to so many people that I care about and even more that I don't. I wondered at that moment that, if there is an afterlife, would I even get there?

The more I looked back on my life, the more guilty I felt. Did I actually think I'd be able to explain away all the mean things I've done? Would I be able to make up an excuse for why I was so lazy and never bothered to help others unless they did something for me? These feelings plagued me all morning. Jude and Wyatt were still sleeping, or at least pretending to be sleeping while I stared out into the water. I thought to myself that if I could have a second chance at life, what would I do? What would I change? I closed my eyes and with all my energy I tried not to cry, I just whispered to myself, "I wish for a second chance." I kept my eyes closed and continued to whisper to myself, "I wish for a second chance," over and over again. I was afraid that Wyatt or Jude might hear me at first so I whispered but over the next few minutes I began to say it louder and louder until I was yelling. "I wish for a second chance!"

I knew by then that I had woken up Jude and Wyatt but I didn't really care. I needed this moment to give me strength. By the tenth time I yelled, "I wish for a second chance," I was met by a response.

"Why?" asked Wyatt.

"What?" I responded.

"Why do you want a second chance?"

"Because I deserve it." I said in a confident tone.

Then there was silence again. I figured the both of them were still mad at me. I finally realized what I had been saying all along. I needed to be humble to the people I had mistreated or I would never get a second chance. After about thirty minutes of silence I finally spoke again.

"Guys?" I asked.

"What," they both answered back.

"I'm so sorry. I ruined everything. I flipped over our boat. I didn't help look for Jen. I couldn't help Jonesy. I'm really, really sorry." They both seemed taken aback by the apology but only Jude seemed to believe me.

"I'm sorry too. I didn't mean it when I said it was your fault. It's not your fault." Jude said bravely as he slid over to where I was on the boat and hugged me. I sighed into his shoulder trying not to cry for the millionth time. Wyatt still sat at the other end of the boat. I knew it would take even more to convince him.

"Wyatt, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…to throw Jen's leg like that," I retched before I could continue because of the memory.

"I was scared out of my mind. I didn't know what to do. It wasn't right." I pleaded.

Wyatt stayed silent. I figured he just wasn't going to forgive me so I got angry.

"I lost someone, too okay? Don't act like you're so much worse off than Jude and me. We all lost our best friends." I choked on the word 'friends' and wiped away tears. I was crying again, but I just couldn't help it.

"Just forgive me, okay?" I pleaded with Wyatt. Wyatt still sat quietly for a few moments. I hung my head and faced back out onto the ocean. I was surprised from behind as I felt muscular arms around my waist. I immediately thought it was Jude trying to make me feel better. Then I realized it was actually Wyatt. I turned around and gave him a front facing hug and whispered 'thank you' into his left ear.

"I figure since we're gonna die out here, I don't want that on my conscience, you know." Wyatt said out loud to me. I didn't care why he did it, I was just glad he wasn't mad at me anymore.

Out of nowhere, I felt a sudden burst of energy. It was as if I had just drank a pot of coffee minus the jittery feeling. Everything just felt okay now. I finally had peace about whatever was going to happen. I felt so happy I started singing a stupid kid's song from Kindergarten.

_John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt, His name is my name too_

_Whenever we go out_

_The people always shout_

_There goes John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt_

_Dah dah dah dah dah dah dah_

Wyatt and Jude burst out laughing at first but eventually joined in. It made us all feel just happy to be alive like when we were kids. By the fourth time around, it didn't look like we'd ever stop singing until I saw something. I continued to sing as I put my hand over my eyebrows to shield the sun.

It was really far away and I wasn't sure if that was what I was actually seeing. I nudged Jude and he stopping singing when I pointed.

"Hey, why'd everybody stop singing?" Wyatt asked.

"Dude, look," Jude answered pointing.

"Do you think they can see us?" Wyatt wondered.

"I don't know." I responded in a monotone voice.

We all just sat and stared at the large ship in the distance. After what seemed like hours it finally got close enough for us to really take a look at it. It appeared to be some sort of American Naval Ship. We all jumped for joy waving our arms up and down to get to ships attention. We saw men in naval uniforms turn around and look at us. They immediately got on their intercom and called to us. I don't really remember much after that. It was all such a blur. The last thing I remember was being on the ship covered in towels surrounded by medical personnel. But I didn't feel like I needed any of it. I felt amazing just knowing that we were going to live. One of the officers asked me if there had been anyone else on the boat with us. I sadly told him 'yes' and gave him the names. When I got to Jonesy's name last, he interrupted me.

"Jonesy Garcia, by any chance?" he asked.

"Yes, do you know him?" I responded confusedly.

"We picked him up a few days ago. He's the reason we're still out here. He told us about the accident and that there were others. He's sleeping in a rack underneath us. Do you want me to take you to him?" Jude, Wyatt, and I practically screamed 'yes'.

We followed the Naval Officer downstairs to one of the small rooms then he left us all alone. Jonesy was knocked out asleep. It was all I could do not to pounce on him to wake him up. I had remembered the new leaf I had turned over and decided to be gentle. But there was no way I could just stand there and wait for him to wake up! I crawled on top of him and kissed his neck. It was so familiar and warm. So many memories came rushing back to me. I whispered to him that I had missed him so much.

"Nikki," he said in a sleepy tone. "No, not this dream again."

"It's not a dream. But it really feels like it." I said back to him with tears in my eyes. He immediately got up and hugged me and kissed me more passionately than he had ever done in his life.

"Oh my God, I thought you were dead. I thought _all _you guys were dead!" He said in astonishment.

We thought the same thing about you, dude!" Jude piped up. He then gave Jonesy a big hug and Wyatt did the same.

"Where's Caitlin. I bet she'd be glad to see me." Jonesy asked. Jude, Wyatt, and I just bowed our heads to look at the floor. Jonesy became quiet and understood what we meant.

We all hugged each other for a few minutes and silently thought about where we would go from here. We were lucky to be alive but a part of us would never be the same. How could we go back to our old lives after something like this had happened and two of us were gone?

None of us knew the answer to this question but we all knew that hope was what kept us. Hope got me singing _John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt_ when I wanted to give up. Hope kept Jonesy looking for us with the Naval Officers even though it was likely we were all dead. Hope is what had us standing here all together laughing instead of crying. Hope got us through this sad time. And hope got us through the sad times ahead, the counseling sessions, the funerals, and the nightmares. Hope made us feel that even though things were tough, somehow they would get better. And they did get better. I've recently written about this experience a year later for a college entrance essay. If it wasn't for keeping up hope and leaning on my family, my remaining friends, and my counselors and teachers, I may not have gotten this far. I'm a much stronger person now than I was a year ago and, in a weird way, I'm grateful for what happened. I'm not grateful for losing my closest friends, but I'm grateful that I was able to survive that experience and the aftermath. Nothing that can happen in my life is worse than what I've already gone through. I also remembered that new leaf. I'm now a much more easy going person. I actually can tolerate my job now without flipping out on my co-workers or the customers. I haven't yelled at my boyfriend, now fiancé, in this past year. I've completed over 15 hours of community service just this week. I feel so accomplished now. But there are still sad times, however. I've been thinking about graduation now and it still hurts that Jen and Cait aren't going to be there. I sometimes feel guilt about what happened, but then I just write down my feelings, remind myself why it isn't my fault, and throw them away like my therapist taught me. I'm so thankful for my life now, more than I had ever been last year before this experience. Hope didn't save my life, it gave me a new one.


End file.
